When selecting the best team-building, bonding adventure, or corporate event for your Seattle-based group, you have many great options to choose from. Whether you’re looking for an adrenaline rush or something more relaxing, something out there will fit the bill. So how do you decide which corporate team-building activity suits your team?
Here are a few things to keep in mind when making your decision:
What kind of experience do you want? An adventure, a day filled with fun games, something that requires critical thinking, trivia games, cooking classes, or achieving team goals. Maybe you prefer a more relaxing activity? The other thing you want to keep in mind when selecting a team-building exercise is if you’ll have remote teams join you.
Once you’ve considered these factors, it’s time to start narrowing down your choices. Here are a few of our favorite team-building and bonding adventures in Seattle for groups of all sizes and budgets!
Here’s our list of favorite Seattle Corporate Team Building Ideas
Hot Air Balloon Ride – Team Building and Team Bonding
Our Favorite Pick!
Hot air ballooning as a team is a unique team-building experience, and it’s also a great way to build morale by allowing your employees or team members to bring their spouse or significant other. Hot air ballooning is a unique activity on most people’s bucket lists; plus, you can do it year-round in Seattle!
The great thing about hot air ballooning is that it’s suitable for groups of any size – from five to twenty-five. It’s also an incredibly safe and breathtaking activity that requires no prior experience or skill, and all you need to do is step into the basket and take off.
Part of team building is bonding over a new experience or doing something as a team that you would never do on your own. One of the things organizers often wonder about is, “what if someone is afraid of heights?”. The good news is that over 60% of Seattle Ballooning’s passengers have some fear of heights. After taking over 30,000 passengers, we’ve never had anyone have an issue once they are in the balloon. Being in a hot air balloon is a quiet, surreal, and peaceful experience. If someone is a little worried, this is a great time to practice those communication skills and support your coworkers.
Seattle Ballooning is centrally located in Auburn, WA, making it a short drive from cities like Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, and Tacoma. Post hot air balloon flight, you’ll have time to chat as a team while sipping on the delicious bubbly! We often have team leaders and managers bring breakfast items; you are welcome to store the items in our chase vehicles while you fly.
Another neat team-building activity is to have a hot air balloon come to a field near your Seattle office and do tethered balloon rides. Tethered balloon rides allow 100 people per hour to embark on a hot air balloon journey 150 feet in the air. Tethers are also great activities for company picnics or other fun group activities!
No one will remember going to the escape room, a ropes course, team building over beers, or general team outings; however, everyone will remember the time the team bonded while flying in a hot air balloon in front of Mt. Rainier at sunrise.
If you aren’t into heights?
Here are a few other cool ideas for quality team bonding with your team in Seattle and Bellevue! I hope you enjoy our extensive list of team-building workshops!
Rock Climbing – Team building activity in Seattle and Bellevue
There is no shortage of places to go rock climbing in Seattle. For team building, we suggest using an indoor rock climbing gym with all the equipment you need.
We like Edgeworks Climbing as they provide climbing shoes, chalk, and a great climbing experience. Rock climbing is an excellent trust and team-building event for groups of all sizes. It is a challenging indoor/outdoor activity that encourages communication and problem-solving. Part of the team building program is climbing; teams must work together to reach the top, and participants must trust one another to provide support and assistance. This activity is perfect for managers, team leads, and small business owners who want to create an exceptional team bonding experience. Rock climbing can be hit or miss depending on your group’s physical activity and age, and it may exclude some employees due to team members’ ability and the type of strength and activity required to rock climb.
Paddleboarding – Team building activity on Lake Washington and Greenlake
Here’s a fun team outing idea! Paddleboarding! Paddleboarding is a great way to spend time outdoors with your team and bond while doing something active. It’s also a great way to get some exercise and enjoy the beautiful view of Lake Washington. You don’t need any experience paddleboarding to participate in this activity. Team building starts if someone needs to improve at paddleboarding and falls into the water. Will the team encourage and help them, or will they only be responsible for themselves? Paddleboarding as a team-building activity will show you exactly what your team is made of and where they need to improve. We like Ballard Kayak’s adventure tours (https://www.ballardkayak.com/corporate-group-events).
They take the old-school trust fall to the next level. These individual/ team activities improve morale, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
Hiking around Seattle
Hiking is a popular outdoor activity that people of all ages can enjoy, and it’s also a great way to bond with coworkers and build teamwork skills. Hiking can be such an enjoyable and affordable team-building event that many companies are now including it in their corporate wellness programs.
Golfing As A Team Building Activity – Go For Top Golf VS. Real Golfing
Golf is a great way to build teamwork and bonding. It’s an outdoor activity that people of all ages and skill levels can enjoy. Golfing also provides a challenge that can test people’s abilities, making it the perfect team-building event. Top Golf combines the best of both worlds: Golf and gamification. This is an easy last-minute team-building activity. You can get all the food and drinks catered directly through Top Golf and spend a few hours laughing at how good or bad your golf swing is! The opportunity to play games together as a team-building activity is always a win! Just be aware of your team members with a strong competitive spirit team.
Whitewater Rafting
To go White Water rafting as a team-building activity, you’ll need to drive around 2.5 hours. Rafting can be a super fun team-building activity but requires a lot of planning because of the distance. Therefore, we suggest team-building activities closer to Seattle for companies on the West side of the Cascades.
Airsoft Team Building and Bonding Locations
Airsoft is a great corporate outing for groups of all sizes. When participating in an airsoft game, you must rely on your teammates to complete the mission. This can help build better communication and teamwork skills. Airsoft is also a fun outdoor activity that can help boost morale. One thing to watch out for is that all team members may be content with using any type of weapon, real or not. It’s always good to ask and ensure everyone is on board with the idea before moving forward. If airsoft isn’t for your team, plenty of other outdoor activities can help build team chemistry and morale. Just find something that works for everybody! The Tacoma Airsoft Center is a pretty neat facility.
Kayaking
Kayaking can be a great team bonding and building activity. It can be done in various settings, from calm waters to more challenging rivers, to accommodate a range of abilities. It’s also a great way to exercise and enjoy the outdoors. Kayaking can be a fun and rewarding experience for groups of all sizes, so it’s perfect for a rewarding team-building program. We suggest checking out renting open kayaks and floating around Lake Washington!
Geocaching
Geocaching is an excellent way for teams to bond and build trust. It’s an outdoor activity that people of all ages can enjoy, perfect for team-building events. Geocaching is a treasure or scavenger hunt where participants use GPS coordinates to find hidden caches. It’s a fun and challenging activity that encourages teamwork and problem-solving.
If you’re looking for an excellent geocaching location in Seattle, check out the Olympic Sculpture Park. This park is home to many beautiful sculptures and is the perfect place to hide a cache. Another great option is Discovery Park. This park is vast, and it offers plenty of opportunities for adventure. If you’re looking for something a little more challenging, try Mount Rainier, National Park. This park is known for its rugged terrain, and it’s the perfect place to test your skills. Many groups do geocaching activities around Seattle Works, Lake Union, The Space Needle, and Pioneer Square.
Whirlyball – Company Team Building Activities
Whirlyball is a great team-building activity for groups 5 to 25. It is a mix of lacrosse, basketball, hockey, and bumper cars. Players use a Whirlybat to hit a whiffle ball across the court into the opposing team’s goal. This is a great way to get out and have fun while bonding with coworkers.
The Seattle location offers a variety of packages to choose from. The basic package includes the game equipment, one hour of playing time, and a party host to help keep things running smoothly. Add-on options include food and drinks, t-shirts, and medals.
Virtual Event
You can always opt for a virtual event to avoid getting the team together for fun activities. A virtual company event was a great way to get through Covid. These days, most company team-building activities take place in person.
There are many different team bonding experiences that a business can choose from, but only one that can help teams reach new heights. That experience is Seattle Ballooning. Hot air ballooning is a great way for teams to bond and build trust.
So what are you waiting for? It’s time to select your Seattle company team-building activities for 2023. Get your team out of the office and into a hot air balloon for an unforgettable Seattle team-building impact or corporate bonding experience!
Happy Team Bonding! 🙂 Team Seattle Ballooning.
